Tag Archives: Dodge Caliber SRT-4

We’ve got snow in Houston, Texas at Modern Performance! For most of our customers that live in the North, or Northeast part of the USA snow isnt a big deal, but since snow only comes about once every 10 years, we had to take photos!

Photo of the MP crew from left to right: Jerry, Matt, Kyle, John, Charles, Cory

Our friend Noah is deployed to Iraq, and he wants us to take care of, and modify his Caliber SRT4 while he’s deployed. So, for kicks, we took some photos of our project Caliber SRT4 versus Noah’s bone stock Caliber SRT4 just to show you the height difference between the two cars.

Our project car is equipped with BC coilovers and we estimate its lowered about 2 inches compared to stock.

# Improves throttle response and peppiness!
# Will NOT AFFECT your cars AC/Power Steering/Alternator
# Uses the factory belt
# Can be installed in less than 30-45 minutes with only simple hand tools
# It costs just about $100 !

MPx pulley weighing in at 1.4 lbs, and the Factory crank pulley weighing in at 4.2 lbs.

If you have decided to install a new blow off valve on your Neon SRT4 or Caliber SRT4 so that you can turn up the boost without the factory blow off valve leaking, or if you just want a cool sounding blow off valve, youll need to mount a uppipe with flange onto your car.

Why you might ask ? Well the answers simple! The factory blow off valve has a flange that does not work with any aftermarket blow off valves from Hks, Greddy or TurboXs. So, you have to have a pressure pipe with a flange to mount the blow off valve onto. Thats where the uppipes shown below come into action.

The first one is a AGP uppipe for the 03-05 Neon SRT4. The second one shown is the MPx uppipe for the Caliber SRT4.

Both of the pieces above will replace one of the pressurized sections of piping on your car, and allow you to mount a new blow off valve.

Want more details ? Check out the link below, that will show you all of the uppipes we have for the Neon SRT4 and the Caliber SRT4.
http://www.modernperformance.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=uppipe&x=0&y=0

We’ve received the new version of Aeroforce Interceptor Scangauges for the 03-05 Dodge Neon SRT4, 05-07 Chevy Cobalt SS Supercharged, and 08-09 Dodge Caliber SRT4.

These have the exact same functionality as the previous gauges, except now they are offered with interchangeable faces! Now, you simply purchase ONE gauge, and you get a black bezel and a silver bezel, as well as a black face and a silver face! This way you can make whatever combination of face you want within seconds!

So, we decided to snap a few photos to show how easy it is to swap the faces.

Heres where you start. A complete gauge with bezel and face.

Simply unscrew the bezel counterclockwise, and then remove the bezel, clear shield, and face.

Then, install the new face, clear shield, and the bezel of your choice. Presto! Within seconds youve changed the look of the Aeroforce Scangauge!

As you may have noticed, the faces are now customizable with SRT or SS logos on the face. Here is what the gauges look like with the new SRT or SS logo faces.

More information on these gauges, pricing, etc are available on the specific product pages listed below.

After dealing with some quality issues with various cam gears, and long delays with some manufacturers, we decided to step up to the plate.

We took aim with three goals in mind 1) Improve on the quality of the cam gears currently in the market. 2) Improve on the pricing of the cam gear sets for the SRT4/Stratus/Breeze/Pt Cruiser and 3) Improve on the availability of the cam gears in the market. We cannot accept manufacturers being out of stock of cam gears for 1.5 – 3 months!

STRENGTH

We designed these cam gears to be ULTRA STRONG – you cant see it in the photo above, but the center section of the cam gear is ultra thick and strong. Also, whereas some cam gear manufacturers use locking systems with thin aluminum inner sections, we designed ours with thick inner sections that the adjustment screws thread into. We improved on the track where the adjustment bolt rides on by making it extra wide, and using bolts with extra wide heads for superior strength. Lastly, we use grade 8 bolts for the adjustment screws, and we anodize all of the wear surfaces and aluminum machined surfaces with a hard coat for protection and durability.

DESIGN

We designed the cam gear to look great, when its moving, and or when its sitting still.

PRICE

Youll be amazed at the affordable price for this great looking, super strong pair of cam gears!

Today we painted a small batch of Caliber SRT4 Dual/Triple pillar pods and I thought it would be good to show/discuss whats involved in us making these.

First off, Modern Performance worked with a manufacturer to produce these for the Caliber SRT4, and the finished product looks great, however theres one major issue. The manufacturer couldnt produce the pillars in the same color as the factory A pillar. So the a pillar pods are delivered to us in black.

We then had Sherwin Williams paint match the factory A pillar with a special automotive grade paint that flexes with heat and cold. This paint is expensive, and it requires a multi step process to make sure the paint adheres to the pillar perfectly.

The first step is to clean the pillars with a special cleaning agent. Then, we spray a primer on the pillar to prep the surface. Lastly in the painting process we spray the pillar with the custom matched paint.

Then all of the pillar pods are moved outside to bake in the sun for a few hours, followed by curing indoors overnight.

At this point, we compare the painted pods to the factory pillar to make sure the color matches perfectly.

To make sure the pillar pods arent damaged in transit, we then take each pillar and wrap them in bubble wrap. Its quite a process, and it involves a lot of work, but we do it all the right way to make sure they look good, and will last in your Caliber SRT4.

We’re testing another powdercoat process that should adhere better to the plastic valve cover. This is done in a wrinkle red type finish, and its a different type of process/curing than a standard powdercoat. This is still a great looking, very durable finish.

Here it is installed onto our project 08 Caliber SRT-4. We will be testing this valve cover in different heat levels, subjecting it to different chemicals to ensure its going to be very durable, heat resistant, and chemical resistant before we bring these to market. This is a very critical phase of this product testing, to make sure that it will last, and not peel off or crack with the extreme heat from the turbo.

We’ve received a production unit of a Clutchmasters Caliber SRT4 clutch and are about to test it out in our project Caliber SRT4. We’ve worked with Clutchmasters to get them to build a Caliber SRT4 performance clutch. This is really exciting news, because this will be a MUCH more affordable replacement clutch for the Caliber that can hold serious power than the factory clutch!

Here are some pictures.

Now, for those of you who have seen Neon, and Neon SRT4 clutches before, your probably wondering, why does it look so thick?

Its because the Caliber SRT4 uses a dual mass flywheel, which is a high end design of clutch/flywheel that significantly dampens vibrations, spikes in power from the engine and drivetrain. Because of the dual mass flywheel, the overall assembly is VERY heavy. The Caliber SRT clutch assembly weighs in at 38 lbs, whereas most conventional Neon and Neon SRT4 clutches are about 30 lbs.

The clutch we have photos of above, which is a single, standard flywheel made out of aluminum weighs in at 26 lbs, or a whopping 12 lbs off the drivetrain. The 12 lb weight savings will really increase the cars performance and acceleration.

One thing thats also of interest, is that the original clutch and flywheel were produced with Mercedes stampings and part numbers. Take a look at the photos below of our stock clutch.

Now, we are going to start testing the clutch in our Caliber SRT4, and we’ll keep you guys updated with our testing results!

We’ve been working on releasing a powdercoated valve cover for the 08+ Dodge Caliber SRT-4 for a little while now.

For those of you not familiar with Powdercoating, its a special process thats like using paint, however theres one major difference. Powdercoating uses a powdered paint material, thats spayed onto an object and then baked at 300-400 degrees. The baking process seals the paint to the object your powdercoating and ensures you have a durable, hard finish that can withstand high temperatures, oils, grease, cleaners, etc. This is the best process to use when your working with an piece that will be used in the engine bay, and subjected to temperatures of up to 250 degrees or more. If you tried spraypainting your valve cover, it will peel off, or could even catch fire when its subjected to the extreme heat coming off the turbo on your 03-05 Neon SRT-4, 08+ Chevrolet Cobalt SS Turbo, or 08+ Dodge Caliber SRT-4.

Now, unlike the older generation Neon SRT-4 which used a aluminum valve cover, the Dodge Caliber SRT-4 uses a injection molded plastic valve cover. The aluminum valve covers from the Neon SRT-4, could be baked with a high temperature powdercoating material, thats easily sourced. The plastic valve cover on the other hand from the Caliber SRT-4 cannot be subjected to 400-500 degrees in the powdercoat baking ovens, as it might warp, or possibly even melt. So, a special lower temperature powdercoat has to be used.

We’ve now tested a few Caliber SRT-4 valve covers with the lower temperature powdercoat and have worked out most of the bugs so far. This last revision gave us a really nice glossy finish, and a very durable finish. We’ll be making another revision to make the powdercoat finish absolutely perfect and at that point begin to offer brand new, Mopar valve covers powdercoated in different colors for sale.

Just for your information, heres details on the revisions we have done.
1) First test on powdercoat, tested valve cover in baking oven
2) Powdercoat finish was a success, in addition to taping off and sealing all of the threaded screw holes, and pcv holes, we are now sanding down all of the casting marks that come on a factory valve cover to make sure the finished valve cover has a smooth, unblemished finish.

Anyways, enough of the typing, onto the photos!

Ill post more details and photos as we progress with these valve covers.